Lusaka Lawyer Dickson Jere says the UPND should accept the fact that the rest of the country has moved on and the opposition party’s failure recognise a legally sworn-in Head of State is a sheer waste of time.
Commenting on UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema’s adamancy on moving away from the 2016 presidential election petition, Jere who is former State House press aide said it was pointless for the UPND to continue bickering over the past instead of focussing on 2021.
“The UPND are saying they won’t recognise the President but I think it’s a waste of time to even think about that because Zambia has a Head of State who is internationally recognised and the same UPND MPs are always going to Parliament which is being opened by the same President they don’t recognise.”
“The President was elected alongside a Vice-President who is also leader of government business in Parliament and the UPND have been asking her questions in Parliament. So I think both the UPND and PF have got to compromise something in their approach to dialogue. UPND loses nothing by accepting the fact that there is a President here in Zambia who is internationally recognised and that for the sake of dialogue, they have to be forward looking,” Jere said.
Jere who is also Matero constituency parliamentary aspirant said the two parties should avoid making political statements that would jeopardise the dialogue process which was underway.
“The issue of recognition can not kill dialogue so both parties must exercise restrain and go to the negotiating table without preconceived conditions, and I think the opposition must be bold enough to say ‘yes, we may not have recognised these elections or we may not have accepted the results but as the situation stands now, there is a Head of State and he is a legally recognised Head of State’. So whether the UPND recognises him or not its neither here nor there because he is the President.”
“What they should have done instead if they don’t recognise the President is to have refused to go and participate in Parliament because we all see the President going to parliament, I mean he is the one who promulgates the official opening of Parliament under his hand. So how can the same person they don’t recognise promulgate Parliament and they go to participate in the activities of Parliament which is officially opened by the same President they don’t recognise?” he wondered.
“The ruling party also has to sacrifice something but look, you can’t go to dialogue with me as President if you don’t even recognise me. So why are you talking to me if you don’t recognise me? Because the negotiations as I understand them have nothing to do with PF and UPND, it is UPND going to discuss with the Head of State so let them recognise him if they are going to deal with the Head of State.”
“If they don’t recognise him then we are going to have a situation where while in the meeting they start refusing to call the President ‘your Excellency’ like we saw on President Lungu’s birthday the UPND president sent a message saying ‘happy birthday President of PF’ instead of just saying ‘the President of the Republic of Zambia’ because everyone knows that there is a President of Zambia who is internationally recognised,” Jere explained.
Meanwhile, Jere said the UPND should focus on 2021.
“I think the UPND will do well if they just accepted that fact. In fact News Diggers! did a very good opinion on this matter where they are saying that HH should move forward and look beyond 2021.
You can’t keep on crying that there is no President when he is appointing judges everyday, he is swearing in ministers, he is swearing in ambassadors but you still want to insist that he is not a recognised President. I think we need to move ahead, yes that Constitutional court may not have heard the petition but the 14 days elapsed and a decision was made.”
“That’s the difficult of the democracy we chose. And it is a shame that we have to wait for foreigners to come and help us dialogue. why should Commonwealth be coming here to come and force us to talk? But when there is a funeral we all go there and when there are weddings, we meet and talk because we are one people, we are all the same,” said Jere.
The learned lawyer will be able to enlightened us all as to where in the constitution it states that a president has to be recognised.
Its time for all those that believe that there is a law stating recignition of the president move on and accept that it is not necessary.
I look forward to the legal fraternity to quote where in the constitution it says there has to be recognition.
Please move on and provide good governance for all zambians
Why can’t the Concourt meet for one day from 8am till 5pm and give UPND lawyers a chance to bring evidence and let Concourt decide once and for all that PF won.
Because the announcement by ECZ was challenged but the case was never heard.
Why is PF so obsessed with such a non-issue? They wanted to govern. Why can’t they enjoy governing and stop worrying about UPND?
There you go, upnd psychopaths, you are all condemned and are good for nothing losers.
PF are fighting to many wars. They have UPND to deal with for starters, NDC is budding and is being a pain, PF rigging facilitators are on the wings wanting their spoils, The POST masquerading as The MAST is reeling and licking it’s wounds while they wait to cease an opportunity and they lurk and watch as things unfold. Other minors like Mulongoti, Chipimo, Saviour Chishimba and Nawakwi are weighing their chances. Meanwhile Koswe is holding on to the Stolen Mandate, Kaya mweee!
Dickson Jere, who should move on?, if the concerns of 2016 are not resolved , what guarantee the PF will not play games in 2021. For a lawyer you should know what happened from ECZ and the stup1d Con-court should not be allowed again. Therefore a logical conclusion in the court of law should be allowed and not in your head.
Jere is a lawyer and he should know that once the issue is in court, its the duty of the court to deal with the issue. If he wants UPND to move on, he should be encouraging the court to swiftly deal with the case (throw it out if they want) case-closed and then tell UPND to move on. We as citizens also want to know what evidence HH gave the courts, its like PF is blocking us from knowing that evidence….Even if it is ‘rubbish’ evidence, give HH chance in court and you can shame him later if his evidence is indeed “rubbish’
Why is PF so obsessed with UPND’s recognition? I forsee Lungu claiming that he did not perform well because be was not recognized by UPND..kikikikikikik
@Mulele in Kenya which case is in court? Petition?
Mr Jere keep it up .You are a very intelligent lawyer thats a very good advise.It is very important to recognize him and go forward with the dialogue for the sake of unity in the country.We can only have one president at a time,focus only for 2021.
Once an Election is Petitioned it is only the Electoral Court which can
declare the Winner as duly elected President. In Zambia did not hear the Petition and did Not declare Lungu the Winner of the 2016 Election. Without a Validation Certificate from Concourt Lungu remains an illegitimate President. As shown in Kenya the Validation of an Election by the Electoral Court is what matters. Opinions of International observers do not confere Legitimacy but a declaration from Concourt. Until the Petition is heard,determined and Concourt declares Lungu the Winner he will remain an illegitimate President.No Petition Hearing. No Recognition. Chapwa!
That’s what happens when you have an U5 at the helm of UPND. Refusing to recognize ECL is the only gimmick keeping him in power as Up Down President.
please people this is no longer a story to talk about. even UPND themselves have moved on and they are just saying it for the sack of it.
Mr Dickson Jere just leave the Supreme Leader HH of the UPND to continue crying over spilled milk… Actually this is working to the advantage of the PF because Supreme Leader HH has now been seen to be irrelevant to the equation and come 2021 everyone would have forgotten about him because of his bitterness and arrogance to democracy…
LT what are you moderating is this site controlled by the author…Cos my comment is not even offensive to the author…
This is the problem in Zambia now, theft, dishonest, corruption and many of the vices you can think of , have become an acceptable way of life and somebody has even the audacity to call other people to move on when the issue is pending in court.
Well said Dickson but these goons dont understand anything at all. Let them die in denial as we move on. I can see a problem in 2021 whereby they want to contest against a president they do not recognise. They will vote for HiisHighness against the unknown person called Lungu who will win again. Halooser Hagain (HH)!.
What a disaster!
This Lawyer Dick Jere is the one who should move on. UPND have correctly followed the Law, taken the case to the constitutional court. The constitutional court should put their act together and tell the nation outcome. This Lawyer Mr Dick J should instead talk about important issues like reducing corruption, improving people welfare and local economy, respect of the Zambian law.
Dear PF, you successfully registered the car you stole from UPND in broad daylight. It is now legally yours. Why are you concerned about people pointing fingers at you that you are driving a stolen car, when it is beyond their power to arrest you for stealing? The idea that you must shut them up completely, is an over-reaction on your part. Please govern. Don’t make excuses or create scapegoats. You are the government.
Dickson Jere is the former Adviser to RB and RB is the Godfather to Edgar Lungu. In addition Dickson Jere,Lungu and RB are Umodzi Kumawa Buddies. With this connection why is Dickson Jere’s business to advise HH on his constitutional rights? What loss will HH and UPND suffer by leaving the Petition in Court? If Lungu is InternInternationally recognised why is he demanding to recognised by the Election Petitioners. Dickson Jere should advise Lungu and RB to resolve the Petition while they still have some leverage.After losing Power ,Lungu and his Koswes bazalila for crimes committed during his Rule. The writing is on the Wall!
I think the UPND has been extremely civil on this issue. They felt aggrieved about the election results and as per constitution they went to the constitutional court. The constitutional court threw out their issue without the issue being heard despite the constitutional court itself guaranteeing the days that petition was going to be held, just suddenly the concourt flip flopped and said we cant hear the petition as the time has elapsed. The UPND again went to the high court to complain about their right to be heard and that is what is pending. I think they have been very obedient, lawful, civilised and disciplined. Love them or hate them
My Friend is living with the Lady I wanted to marry. Whoops, the woman is also enjoying the marriage. what can I do to get her back? Please help the opposition.
Why is it that many who call for the acceptance of Lungu’s theft are from the East? As a lawyer, Jere you should know that criminal and even civil matters do not just disappear on their own or just because one has accepted to be wronged. There are moral issues involved and precedents set for the future here. In fact reconciliation and forgiveness starts with the offender acknowledging his mistake, admitting his mistake and righting the wrong, that is when you can say let us forget and move on, not where a thief after having stolen from you continues to have
the guts to harass you and your family and stealing even more from you. Iyi yena teyo Ba Jere.
The culture of moving on before sorting the mess one is in, so embedded in the afro DNA, guess that’s why Africa in the such a mess like for ever and ever….
KOSWE MUMPOTO
The pain the UPND feel for their perennial electoral defeats is chronic and will never go away.